On 24 August 1943, German submarine U-185 (Type IXC/40, Kptlt. A. Maus) sunk by depth charges from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft of US Navy Composite Squadron 13 (VC-13), operating from escort carrier USS Core (CVE-13) in position 27.00N, 37.06W.
U-185 sinking (photo: US Navy)
Records on U-185 are held at the US National Archives.
“On this day in history” 24 August, the following U-boats were at sea:
1939 20
1940 14
1941 45
1942 99
1943 70
1944 69
“On this day in history” 12 June 1943, German Type XB submarine U-118 (KrvKpt. Werner Czygan) was sunk with depth charges by a flight of Avenger aircraft operating from the US Navy escort carrier USS Bogue (ACV/CVE-9). There were 43 dead (including Czygan) and 16 survivors. The wreck of U-118 lays west of the Canary Islands at 30.49N, 33.49W.
Remarkably, a gun camera photo of the attack exists. The photo is in the collection of US Naval History and Heritage Command.
Fourth attack run on U-118, TBF pilot Ltjg W. F. Chamberlain, USNR. Staffed U-boat and dropped two depth charges. (NHHC 80-G-6894)
“On this day in history” 11 June 1943, Type VIIC Unterseeboot U-417 (Oblt. Schreiner) sunk during depth charge attack by Fortress Mk II aircraft from No. 206 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command. All hands (46) lost.
The B-17 (serial FA 704 R) caught the U-boat on the surface and, despite a successful depth charge attack, damage from the U-boat’s anti aircraft guns forced the pilot (Wing Commander R Thompson) to ditch in the Atlantic. The 8-man crew spent 3-days in a single life raft while rough Atlantic seas prevented rescue.
Fortress Mk II (FA 704 R) of No. 206 Squadron RAF.
On the third day, Squadron Leader Jack Holmes of No. 190 Squadron RAF finally landed a Catalina flying boat and rescued the downed airmen. The DFC citation for Holmes reads:
In June, 1943, this officer piloted an aircraft detailed to search for a dinghy containing the crew of an aircraft. After a flight of some 400 miles over the water the dinghy was located. Although a heavy sea was running, making the task of alighting the aircraft extremely hazardous, Squadron Leader Holmes skilfully came down alongside the dinghy and its occupants were hauled safely aboard the aircraft. This officer displayed superb airmanship and great determination throughout.
London Gazette, 17 August 1943
On 13 October 1943, German aircraft torpedoed SS Empire Haven (6,603 GRT) in position 36°15′N 02°23′W, north of Oran, Algeria. The merchantman was under contract to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and travelling as part of Convoy MKS 21. One of the convoy escorts, the minesweeper HMS Rye, took Empire Haven under tow and brought her into Gibraltar.
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, signalled:
I congratulate you, the escort force and convoy MKS 21 on your sturdy defence of convoy against heavy harassing attack. The enemy got a sore head he is likely to remember.
Empire Haven lay there until 1946, awaiting repairs. She was sold to R. Chapman & Son and renamed Clearton.
SS Empire Haven
Builder: Taikoo Dockyard & Engineering Company of Hong Kong Ltd.
Tonnage: 6,603 GRT.
Launched: 28 April 1941.
So much for wartime events.
Enter my grandfather, SBA aboard HMS Rye, and wondering in a period of postwar austerity whether he was entitled to a share of salvage money for “assistance rendered to” Empire Haven.
I do not have copies of the letters that my grandfather sent to the Admiralty in 1946 and 1947, but I do have the replies sent my the Director of Navy Accounts.
In the first reply, dated 24 December 1946, the Admiralty acknowledges Rye‘s salvage of Empire Haven and states that a “share of the award will be made as early as practicable.”
The reply also rejects a claim for salvage on the Liberty ship SS Francis W. Pettygrove, also damaged during German attacks on Convoy MKS 21.
The second reply, dated 27 March 1947, acknowledged receipt and return of my grandfather’s S.459 form (certificate of service record in the Royal Navy), stating “a remittance on this account will be sent you shortly.”
Here is a snapshot from my grandfather’s updated S.459 showing the payment of £2 5/- (two pounds and five shillings) as his share of salvage for SS Empire Haven.
Not exactly a princely sum. My grandfather spent his salvage money on a halfway decent hat.
He still had that hat thirty years later in 1977 when he took me on the train from Waterloo down to Portsmouth to see the Queen’s Silver Jubliee Fleet Review. Memorable day for eight year old me: Southern Region breakfast in the dining car, a tour of HMS Victory, carvery lunch at the Keppels Head, miles and miles of grey funnels at the fleet review, heaps of ice cream, and home in time for tea.
I miss you, you silly old bugger.
HMS/HMAS Vendetta was an Admiralty V-class destroyer that saw service during the First World War and the Second World War. Vendetta served in the Royal Navy from 1917 to 1933 and then transferred to the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Vendetta in 1933. She was sold for scrap in 1946 and scuttled off Sydney Heads in 1948.
HMS Vendetta, June 1919 (IWM Q73903).
First World War
HMS Vendetta was commissioned in 1917 and assigned to the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla which was attached to the Grand Fleet. In October 1917, the flotilla consisted of the light cruiser HMS Champion as flagship, the depot ship HMS Woolwich, two flotilla leaders, twenty-one M-class destroyers, seven R-class destroyers, and six V-class destroyers (including Vendetta). Her first action was against German minesweepers operating in the Kattegat.
On the night of 17th November 1917, Vendetta formed part of the destroyer screen for the First Light Cruiser Squadron at the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight.
In March 1918, the flotilla was transferred to the Battle Cruiser Force (Rear Admiral William Pakenham).
HMS Vendetta, June 1919 (IWM Q73907).
Interwar
Following the First World War, Vendetta was assigned to the Baltic in support of White forces during the Russian Civil War. On 12th December 1918, she rescued 430 crew from HMS Cassandra when the cruiser struck a mine and sank. Vendetta also took part in the capture of the Bolshevik Orfey-class destroyer ‘Spartak’ and the Izyaslav-class destroyer ‘Lennuk’ which were transferred to the Estonian Navy.
Between 1924 and 1933, Vendetta served with First Destroyer Flotilla and the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet.
In 1933, Vendetta was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. Together with the destroyer leader Stuart and the destroyers Vampire, Voyager, and Waterhen, she departed Chatham on 17th October and arrived in Sydney on 21st December. The 5 ships formed the Australian Destroyer Flotilla, later to become the infamous “Scrap Iron Flotilla.”
HMAS Vendetta ship’s company 1937 (RAN photo).
Second World War
HMAS Vendetta served in the Royal Australian Navy throughout the Second World War. In November 1939, the RAN approved an Admiralty request to transfer Australian destroyers to the Mediterranean Fleets. HMAS Venedtta took passage with Stuart, Voyager, and Waterhen via the Red Sea and Suez, arriving at Malta on 14th December.
During her time in the Mediterranean, Vendetta earned battle honours for the Libya campaign (1940-41), the Battle of Cape Matapan (1941), the Battle of Greece (1941), and Crete (1941). She also served as a convoy escort between Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexandria, and as a member of the famous ‘Tobruk Ferry Service’ ferrying supplies into the besieged city and evacuating wounded. After 2-years continuous service in the Mediterranean, Vendetta was nominated for refit and, after transit of Suez and Bombay, arrived at Sembawang Dockyard, Singapore on 12th November 1941.
HMAS Vendetta, Tobruk Ferry Service, 1941 (RAN photo).
When war with Japan broke out, Vendetta was still under refit at Sembawang. When the Japanese bombed Singapore on 8th December 1941, a stick of bombs fell within 200-yards of the destroyer. There was a further air raid on 31st December, during which time Vendetta‘s anti aircraft armament went into action. During an air raid on 21st January 1942, Vendetta shot down a Japanese bomber with a direct hit on its bomb bay. With Japanese forces approaching Singapore from landward, the stripped-down Vendetta was towed from the dockyard on 2nd February, reaching Batavia on 10th February, Fremantle on 4th March, and Melbourne on 15th April. Her refit recommenced at Williamstown and was finally complete in September 1942.
HMAS Vendetta (RAN photo).
Vendetta‘s refit involved a reduction in main armament and an increase in anti aircraft armament. She would now serve as a well-armed dedicated escort vessel instead of a “workhorse” destroyer. During her service in the Far East, Vendetta earned the battle honours Pacific (1941-43) and New Guinea (1943-44). In September 1945, Vendetta transported Australian representatives to Rabaul to accept the surrender of Japanese forces.
HMAS Vendetta paid off on 17th November 1945 and was placed on the disposal list. The ship was sold for scrapping in 1946 and her hulk was scuttled off Sydney Heads on 2nd July 1948.
HMS Vendetta / HMAS Vendetta Details
Admiralty V and W-class destroyer.
Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan.
Laid down November 1916.
Launched 3rd September 1917.
Completed 17th October 1917.
Sold for scrap, scuttled off Sydney 1948.
HMS Vendetta / HMAS Vendetta Specifications
Displacement: 1,090t
Length: 312ft o/a
Beam: 29ft 6in
Draught: 14ft 8in
Machinery: 3 Yarrow boilers, 2 Brown-Curtis turbines, 29,417 SHP, 2 shafts
Speed: 35kn
Complement: 6 officers and 133 ratings
Armament:
as built: 4 QF 4-inch Mk V guns, 1 QF 2-pounder Mk II, 2 triple 21-inch torpedo tubes
added later: 2 depth charge rails, 4 depth charge throwers
post-1942 refit: 2 4-inch guns, 2 pom-poms, 4 Oerlikon guns, 7 .303-inch guns, depth charges
HMS Vendetta, January 1919 (IWM ART1657).
Links
“Operation Principle, Palermo, January 1943” by Johne Makin. Painting in collection of Royal Navy Submarine Museum.
Peter, also known as ‘Pétain’ (one assumes after the French collaborator), was the mascot of HMS/M Ursula (N59), a U-class submarine commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1938. Peter was rescued from the German-crewed merchantman ‘Sainte Marguerite II’ which was torpedoed by Ursula on 2 December 1942. Described as “terrified” (and who wouldn’t be?) Peter was rescued from the water and adopted as the submarine’s mascot.
February 1943. Officers of HM SUBMARINE URSULA stand in front of the conning tower, which has been draped with the Jolly Roger. Left to right, they are: Sub-Lieutenant W Burley, RNVR; Lieutenant A R Profit, DSC, RN; and Lieutenant A R Marshal, RN. Lt Profit is holding their pet dog ‘Peter’.
Photo #: NH 89582-KN (Color). “WAVES’ Anniversary”, 1943. Cartoon by Sixta, USNR, depicting events and activities in the first year following the 30 July 1942 authorization of the WAVES. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. U.S. NHHC Photograph.
Photo #: 80-G-K-13754 (Color). WAVE Specialist (Photographer) 3rd Class. Saluting, as she stands among the springtime cherry blossoms near the Jefferson Memorial, Washington, D.C., during World War II. Note her Specialist “P” rating badge. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-14518 (Color). U.S. Naval Training Center, Women’s Reserve, The Bronx, New York. Some of the schools trainees march in formation behind their color guard, during World War II. This Training Center, located in the facilities of Hunter College, provided basic training for Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard women recruits. Note the Center’s flag, featuring the fouled anchor and propeller device of the Women’s Reserve. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-13879 (Color). Navy WAVE trainee. Leans on a swab while cleaning her barracks, soon after she arrived at a Naval Training Center during World War II. Photographed prior to April 1944. Note suitcases at right, and dungaree working uniform with button fly. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-5568 (Color). WAVES on liberty in Honolulu. Yeoman 3rd Class Margaret Jean Fusco photographs three friends by King Kamehameha’s statue in Honolulu, circa spring 1945. Posing are (left to right): Yeoman 2nd Class Jennie Reinhart; Yeoman 2nd Class Muriel Caldwell and Yeoman 2nd Class June Read. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-4563 (Color). USS Missouri (BB-63). WAVES visiting the ship in an east coast port, during her shakedown period, circa August 1944. They are standing on the main deck at the bow, with the Navy Jack flying behind them. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-272753. Transporting WAVES by air, November 1944. WAVEs en route to Naval Air Station, Olathe, Kansas, in a Douglas R4D-6 transport plane, accompanied by their instructor, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) N.J. Merrill. Most of the enlisted WAVES are strikers for the rate of Specialist (Transport Airman). Those present are (from left to right): LtJG Merrill; Yeoman 2nd Class Carolyn Fish; Seaman 2nd Class Gale Collier; Seaman 2nd Class Margaret Chapman; Seaman 2nd Class Gloria Marx; Yeoman 2nd Class Helen Niravelli; Seaman 2nd Class Marilyn Wheeler; and Seaman 2nd Class Helen Ranlett. Note cargo track in the plane’s deck. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-5793 (Color). Yeoman 1st Class Marjorie Daw Adams, USNR(W). Obtains a receipt from Mailman 2nd Class Wilbur L. Harrison, who is picking up classified mail for his attack transport, at Fleet Post Office, San Francisco, California, on 13 June 1945. He is armed with a handgun for security reasons. Much of the official Navy mail going to the Pacific Fleet passes through the Fleet Post Office’s Registry Office. Note WAVES recruiting poster in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-5460 (Color). U.S. Naval Hospital, San Diego, California. WAVE Pharmacist’s Mate 3rd Class Winifred Perosky prepares to X-Ray Marine Private First Class Harold E. Reyher, circa spring 1945. She is one of 1000 WAVES assigned to the Naval Hospital at San Diego. PFC Reyher had been wounded by an enemy sniper on Iwo Jima. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-5675 (Color). WAVE air station control tower crew. At a Naval Air Station in the Hawaiian islands, circa mid-1945. Specialist 2nd Class Mary E. Johnson uses a microphone to speak to an incoming plane, as Specialist 2nd Class Lois Stoneburg operates a signal lamp. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-43935. Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Violet Falkum. Turns over the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engine of a SNJ-4 training plane, at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, 30 November 1943. This photograph was used in a World War II recruiting poster. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Photo #: 80-G-K-14222 (Color). WAVES study aircraft mechanics. At Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey, during World War II.
Seaman 2nd Class Elaine Olsen (left) and Seaman 2nd Class Ted Snow are learning to take down a radial aircraft engine block. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, National Archives collection.
Naval Matters 